HENNIKER, N.H. — When it comes to pairing beer with poultry, Joe Morette isn’t too fussy. His
turkeys will drink just about anything.

Morette, who is raising about 50 Thanksgiving turkeys this year, has been giving his birds beer
since 1993, when he and his workers popped open a few cans after work on a hot July day. A turkey
knocked one over and started drinking, he said, and they’ve been sipping the suds ever since.

Morette, who prefers serving the turkeys lager, insists that beer makes the birds fatter, more
flavorful and juicier.

Longtime customer Dan Bourque, a Manchester, N.H., lawyer, said he hasn’t had a bad bird yet
from Morette.

“We find the gravy is much darker and much tastier,” he said. “The bird overall has a slightly
different taste that is very appealing.”

The animal-rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said turkeys shouldn’t be
fed beer and that “farmers across the country use questionable practices to keep costs down or to
alter the taste of animals’ flesh.”

But a poultry expert with the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension said it is
unlikely the birds are suffering.

“I don’t know exactly how much beer each turkey is consuming, but it would have to be a lot in
order for it to kind of have the same effect as too much beer on people,” said Carl Majewski, field
specialist in food and agriculture.

Kathi Brock, national director of Humane Heartland, which oversees the treatment of farm
animals, said the American Humane Association doesn’t prohibit serving beer to animals.